Chapter 70
When I opened the locked door and walked into the room, Lee Sejin, who was sitting gloomily on his bed, freaked out.
"Urgh…!"
"Calm down."
I sat on the opposite bed. Ryu Chungwoo and Keun Sejin, who I thought would follow immediately, were nowhere to be seen.
'…I guess they courteously leave us alone.'
If it was just those two, it should be fine.
Well, it was fine. Anyway, since Lee Sejin was like this, I couldn't sleep right away, so let's hear what he thinks.
'I wish I had a drink.'
There was no way that there would be such a thing in the dorm of an idol group that was about to be launched. Thinking it was such a pity, I just spoke out.
"Hyung, you know that you're going to have an interview with the company tomorrow morning or early morning anyway."
"…!"
"If that's the case, wouldn't it be better to just relax and organize your thoughts here? It is not a situation that can be avoided by avoiding it."
As I wondered whether the characteristic 'I heard it's true' didn't pop out this time, Lee Sejin spoke only after a while.
"…I don't know."
"What is it that you don't know."
"What I want to do…"
"…?"
Isn't it too late to worry about your career now?
"Do you want to go back to your former agency and continue acting?"
"…I don't want to go back."
"So you're saying you want to act?"
"…Isn't that obvious?"
Lee Sejin buried his face in his palms.
"I never thought about becoming an idol in the first place…"
"…"
This somehow reminds me of when something went wrong…?
I clicked my tongue.
'I guess you didn't participate in the audition out of your own will.'
"I guess you participated in <Idol Inc.> because of your former agency."
"…That's right. I took a long break… I had to do something like that because I just joined in."
"Um."
I said nonchalantly.
"For that kind of reason, you seemed to be working hard."
"…Even if I didn't have to work hard. I couldn't be like that."
Lee Sejin flared up a little.
'Hmm, it felt different from that.'
I remembered what he said to me in the final.
– You're debuting, so it's not over for you, is that what you mean? …It must be nice
Doesn't that mean you want to continue? In addition, the change in Lee Sejin's status window was also noticeable.
'There is no F anymore.'
Lee Sejin's dance stat, which was F at the beginning of filming, had now risen to D+.
It was never a growth that could be achieved if it had been done without any special interest.
So I got a rough idea.
"It was actually fun."
"…!"
"It was fun, so you worked harder without realizing it."
Lee Sejin kept his mouth shut. He couldn't deny it.
"That's right… It felt good being on stage. I thought I would like to continue. But acting, too… I want to continue it."
"…? Do it."
"What?"
I don't know why you are worried about this.
"In a couple of years, the agency will probably insert individual activities. Postpone it. If you serve out for five years, there will be the season of contract renewal, so if you want to stop being an idol, you just have to continue acting."
Lee Sejin, who had been listening with his mouth open for a while, soon lowered his head with a bitter smile.
"…I can't."
"Yes?"
"You don't know what my former agency is like."
"…"
Well, I didn't know. Learning that kind of stuff wasn't my thing.
Lee Sejin seemed to have given up halfway, moving up the situation.
"Dream K, over there… It's not a decent agency. If I stay here like this, I don't know what will explode out of their resentment."
"Do you have any weaknesses?"
If drugs came out here, I would go ahead and recommend withdrawal.
Fortunately, Lee Sejin frowned.
"I didn't lead that sort of careless life. …I mean they will blow it up in the form of plausible tabloid gossip."
According to the explanation that followed, it seemed there were already several actors who had been sent off that way because they didn't renew their contracts.
When the contract renewal season came, they deliberately released rumors to lower the ransom.
'Isn't it just like a picture of a bad company?'
"Um, Is there a line-up of rumors that you can predict??"
"Mine is obvious… First of all, the purpose of joining the audition was to make a comeback as an actor and they set the mood by saying that I didn't even want to be an idol."
"Hmm."
"And then there was an affair… Well, anyway, they'll release strange propaganda articles and since it's not a crime, I can't prove it."
"Well, our investment destination is T1, so I don't think you'll leave just like that."
"For now, their goal is to blow up the former agency first and set the mood. They're making T1 cut me cut off."
Lee Sejin murmured bitterly.
"At any rate… I was added at the last minute."
"…"
"The public opinion about me on the Internet is not good right now. There are a lot of people asking to do it without me… Because I'm no good."
"…Um."
He must have looked it all up.
Certainly, that kind of talk had been circulating.
In other words, the group would be much better if we left out the person who was an additional passing participant, a former actor, and had the lowest skill.
I shrugged.
"That public opinion will weaken when we debut."
"…It's no use consoling me."
"No, I am just stating the truth."
"…What?"
"We are moving together with VTIC. It means that they're uniting internally to keep that side in check right now."
"…!!"
Originally, when a powerful enemy was formed outside, the inside was bound to unite.
"Besides, if hyung leaves, someone else will be the target. That's how it is. So, I don't think you should think about it."
Wanting to get rid of someone who looked like the weakest was a common behavior in any group. This meant that it didn't happen particularly because it was Lee Sejin.
Lee Sejin seemed a little teary-eyed, but he soon recovered and shook his head.
"Still… There is no way to stop my former agency right now. Just because I talk to the agency now doesn't mean that I can block off the gossip at its source."
"Then I guess you should do it yourself."
"What?"
I crossed my arms.
"Hyung, you can spread it yourself beforehand."
"…Beforehand?"
"You were forced to participate by your agency, and you post an article saying that you don't want to go back because you've found your aptitude. Make sure to emphasize 'force, forced' by your former agency. Thanks to the audition, you escaped."
"…!"
"Then even if gossip comes out, it won't work well."
My former agency is spreading rumors~In other words, creating an atmosphere that allowed the fans to defend him.
Once public opinion was turned around, the former agency would feel burdened to drag out the lawsuit, and then T1, who didn't want to give shares, would properly end it.
Lee Sejin was silent for a moment with his mouth open.
"…What have you been doing after you dropped out?"
"I joined the audition."
This repertoire didn't change. It was fortunate that the NIS topic didn't come out this time.
"Then let's talk like that with your former agency."
"…Okay."
Anyway, the situation was sorted out. Ryu Chungwoo would take care of the rest. I held back my sigh.
"…Should I post it on my SNS account?"
"Be sure to write it in your own handwriting."
* * *
After news of Lee Sejin's former agency, Dream K's lawsuit came out, the internet entertainment articles section was always filled with at least one related content.
In fact, since it was really an unfair contract, various reactions came out in connection with the issue of abuse of power at the broadcasting station.
– It's too much to take away someone who still has a remaining contract period. Keep the contract and they just need to manage the operation
– Then it's a double settlement. The kids aren't doing some kind of outsourcing service, so why should they do that;; It's better for idols
– To be honest, the former agency didn't do anything right, didn't they even send him out to the audition? It's obvious that they're asking for a refund now that things are working well!
– In terms of cost, it's true that the agency would it was unfair after training trainees and paying for this and that.
– Ah, I'm tired because of Lee Sejin. What is going on. Let's just do it with six of them. Even without him, the quality of the stage and the atmosphere will help
In particular, there was a strong response from those who insisted on leaving out Lee Sejin.
– Oh really he's not helping
– Our kids are doing well, but let's pretend he's an obstacle and take him outㅠㅠ
– A week before their debut, what's going on
– Who wants to see the face of the person who was forced to come to the audition and made a debut by chance? There's no one, right?
– I couldn't sleep, I cried and watched the stage. The actor didn't look good on Testar so let's take him out
With those words, Lee Sejin's fans were hurt, and the vicious cycle was repeated.
And the next morning.
A new notification came from Testar's SNS, which hadn't happened since the first post.
Fans who clicked at the speed of light saw a post with a picture of a handwritten letter attached.
– …!
It was written by Lee Sejin.
=========================
[Hello. I'm Lee Sejin, a member of Testar]
: I'm writing this to convey my thoughts about the latest news and stories
=========================
Carefully written in neat handwriting, the content began with a story about his childhood life in the entertainment industry.
In summary, it meant that the former agency had overworked him tremendously.
=========================
[… Due to such an excessive schedule, I stopped acting as a child actor due to health problems. I think it was hard for a 12-year-old to handle a schedule where he couldn't sleep 3 hours a day]
=========================
And it was said that as soon as he barely recovered and tried to take on a new challenge, he was forced to participate in the audition by his former agency.
=========================
[…I turned it down several times because I had never been on stage before. However, I participated in <Idol Inc.> under great pressure from explanations such as 'If you don't appear on this program, you won't be able to work.'
=========================
And in the audition that he participated in.
Lee Sejin wrote that he found an unexpected joy there.
=========================
[I, who was passive regarding peer relationships, had so much fun making good friends and performing with them. Standing on that stage made me happy.
I didn't expect it at all, but I really wanted to keep doing this. I became desperate.
And thankfully, that dream came true, and now it has become a very precious opportunity for me to debut with these good friends.]
=========================
Lee Sejin concluded the post by saying that he really wanted to debut as a Testar with these friends.
=========================
[I'm sorry I couldn't deliver the first post with good news. In the next post, I will come back with news that can bring you happiness as a Testar member. Thank you for reading this long post]
=========================
Shortly after this article was posted, the public opinion of Testar fans, who were hardly favorable to Lee Sejin, revived.
– Sejin said he wanted to become an idol! Just let him do it
– No, where did the conscience of the former agency go, what a damn unfair thing to say to a 12-year-old. Isn't what you did unfair?
-T1 was right this time. And Dream K is a pig.
– To be honest, I also thought Sejin joined Testar so abruptly… Sometimes I wondered if he really wanted to do this. I'm sorry
Those who had been his fans since he was a child actor were more heartbroken.
– It makes me sick to think of a 12-year-old smiling on TV even though he was having such a hard time…
– I thought Sejin's personality got calmer because he grew up a lot… Sigh…
– I want to see Sejin acting… But more importantly, I want to see Sejin do what he wants to do. First of all, he can't go back to his former agency.
And once public opinion snapped, people who enjoyed ostracizing Lee Sejin were pushed aside.
Of course, there were still a lot of sarcastic people, but for now, they had lost in numbers.
– Lee Sejin is also good with pity actsㅋㅋ But I can't do it better than him, what should I do.
└You're doing better than having a life where you get mad at a 23-year-old and leave hate comments!
└You nail it
– Lee Sejin saw idols are living well so he wanted to keep going – I feel sorry for the kids who were eliminated, it seems he'll make it to three years and then run away
└How could you interpret the accident so twistedly…
└Characteristics of these guys: In other posts, they sarcastically ridiculed those who were eliminated because they were pushed back by Lee Sejin
As fans of passing participants began to feel sympathy for Lee Sejin's post, Testar's individual fandom began to feel repulsed by hate comments about the incident.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Tnet seized Dream K with a few carrots and so many whips.
(Author Note: carrot and whip = a system of reward and punishment.)
The day when the articles quietly went down and were settled, the atmosphere of the fans was reversed.
As if to drive a wedge, another teaser was released at midnight.
However, this time it was not uploaded to the official Testar Wetube channel.
Instead, it was added as part of Tnet's Testar reality show.
[TeSTAR (Testar) 'Hi-five' Official Teaser]
'Is it a channel error?'
'It's not Magical Boy… ?'
Fans thought so for a while, but they quickly clicked on the video.
"…!"